Here's Looking At You, Id

And Krell metal? It sucks. Sucks. It's metal for losers. You need real American steel.

Here at Hope n' Change, our favorite movie of all time is Forbidden Planet. If you haven't seen it, lay your hands on a copy as soon as possible or forever regret a life only half-lived.  And for that matter, stop reading this commentary until after you've seen the film, because there will be spoilers ahead.

Dr. Morbius (we don't know if his first name is Donald) is the smartest man in the universe ("I have a very high IQ, very high. It's beautiful."), has built many impressive structures, and has a plan to make the world, under his guidance, absolutely perfect for everyone using the power of his wonderful, wonderful very big brains.

The only little problem is the appearance of an invisible monster which rips to shreds anyone who disagrees with Morbius about anything. Which, sooner or later, turns out to be practically everyone. Oops!

It's his "monster from the id" that acts on subconscious qualities of fear, anger, envy, lust, and resentment. Our baser extincts which are so hard to contain, and which feel soooo good to let out  - whatever the consequences.

And in some significant ways, Donald Trump is starting to feel like our collective "monster from the id." The personification of unsubtle, ignoble, and anti-intellectual impulses which are entirely understandable given the provocations we've all endured for over seven years.

Before any Trump supporters swear off Hope n' Change forever, we'll admit the possibility that there are reasons to support Trump which can appeal to the "thinky" parts of our brains, although personally we're still desperately looking for them (his big and frequently self-contradictory foreign policy speech on Wednesday sounded to us like an 8th grader's oral report on a book he hadn't read).

Frankly, we still like Cruz and approve of his selection of Fiorina as a possible VP. But we don't think they're going to stop the Trump juggernaut, any more than the Krell metal door above kept the monster from the id from turning on its creator.

Rest assured, however, that if Trump does land the nomination, we have no plans to criticize him in this forum unless he goes waaaaaaaaay off the reservation. Rather, we will focus our efforts exclusively on the ongoing disaster that is the Obama administration, and the impending disaster which would be a Hillary administration.

And however we personally feel about The Donald (and we'll even concede that there's a chance he might be just who we need right now), he'll definitely get our vote if only because it gives us the deliciously sweet opportunity to vote against Hillary. 

Which we would do, gleefully, even if she was running against the Horrible Syphilitic Monster that Lives Under the Bed and Sharts on your Face in the Dark.

Interesting trivia note: if you don't think Robby is the greatest robot ever, you're dead wrong.

Storm und Drang

It's easy if you don't pay attention to the news. Or weather. Or traffic report.

As we write this on Tuesday afternoon, we have a feeling of sick anxiety and foreboding in our stomachs. We were trying to decide whether this is due to the predictions of tornadic weather for our area today (and especially for our daughter in the Oklahoma City area), or if it was anticipating Tuesday night's primary election results.

And then it dawned on us that there's really no difference between the two. Powerful forces are at work which are likely to wreak havoc, and there's really not much we can do but wait it out and hope that no one near and dear to us gets clobbered. Then again, we hoped the same thing for the Obama administration, and look where that got us.

The parallels between twisters and elections run deep. A collision of hot air with cold facts causes massive instability, and all that collected energy has to do something pretty drastic. And in the meanwhile, we watch the news coverage to see the colors rapidly changing - whether it be precinct locations or storm fronts of varying intensity.

At Hope n' Change, we've got a healthy fear of both politicians and tornadoes. The reasons for the former are obvious; the reason for the latter is that we were raised in Indiana and had enough close calls (including saying goodbye to Mrs. Jarlsberg while under our trailer as the sirens wailed, the wind roared, and sky-tentacles of destruction raked the land around us) that our pulse quickens and our bile rises when the skies turn grey-green and the clouds begin to boil.

We'd say more, only now we're starting to scare ourselves (nervous grin). In any event, here's hoping that all of us survive the coming storms - be they meteorological or, in the case of politics, totally illogical.

Quick! Everyone into the tax shelter!

BONUS: BIRTHDAY GIRL!

As daughters go, she really DOES take the cake!

Perhaps the predicted winds are really intended to help blow out the candles on Daughter Jarlsberg's birthday cake today! We hope you'll join us in wishing her the happiest of birthdays and an exciting and successful year to come!

Jailhouse Rock the Vote

Plus, they identify with her jumpsuits.

Members of the GOP are loudly complaining about Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe's executive order to restore the voting rights of 206,000 felons who are (ahem) "likely Democratic voters" just in time for the general election in November.

McAuliffe said that the 150 year old law which he unilaterally rescinded was originally put in place to suppress the rights of black voters, suggesting that he thinks the words "black" and "felon" are entirely interchangeable. Which, sadly and statistically, is pretty much the case here.

He also suggests that if the GOP is unhappy about this new voting bloc (or cellbloc), they need to "quit complaining and earn ex-felon's votes," perhaps by adopting Hillary's inspiring proposals to get tough on cops, empty the prisons, and send convicted criminals to all-expense-paid colleges where they can use whomever's bathrooms - or showers - they feel like.

Then again, perhaps in the heat of this tortuous election cycle Hope n' Change is being too cynical. After all, it's not like Governor McAuliffe has any suspicious political ties to Hillary Clinton.

Well, other than being her Presidential campaign manager in 2008...

Black is the New Orange is the New Black.